May 14, 2012 -- Imperas, Ltd. is releasing the Open Virtual Platforms (OVP) Fast Processor Models for MIPS Technologies new Aptiv generation of processor cores. Example virtual platforms are also being released, as well as support for the cores in Imperas M*SDK software-development tools. MIPS Technologies has verified the functionality of the Aptiv models under the MIPS-Verified program.

"Our new Aptiv generation of cores pushes the boundaries in performance and efficiency. Having MIPS-Verified support from Imperas and OVP, a leading supplier of high-quality, fast processor core models, enables our customers to get started immediately with designs based on the Aptiv generation cores," said Giddy Intrater, Vice President of Marketing, MIPS Technologies. .

The processor core models and example platforms are available from the Open Virtual Platforms website. The models of the Aptiv processor cores, as well as models of other MIPS(R) processors, work with the Imperas and OVP simulators, and have shown exceptionally fast performance of hundreds of millions of instructions per second.

All OVP processor models are instruction accurate, and very fast, focused on enabling embedded software developers, especially those building hardware-dependent software such as firmware and bare-metal applications, to have a development environment available early to accelerate the software development cycle. Virtual platforms utilizing these OVP processor models can be created with the OVP peripheral and platform models, or the processor models can be integrated into SystemC/ TLM-2.0-based virtual platforms using the native TLM-2.0 interface available with all OVP processor models. The OVP simulator also has integration into an Eclipse IDE, enabling easy use for software developers. In addition to working with the OVP simulator, these models work with the Imperas advanced tools for multicore software verification, analysis and debug, including key tools for software development on virtual platforms such as OS and CPU-aware tracing, profiling and code analysis.

The OVP library of Fast Processor Models includes the complete families of the ARMv4, ARMv5, and ARMv6 architecture-based processors, as well as models of most of the processors in the ARM Cortex-M series and Cortex-A series processors. In addition to working with the OVP simulator, these models work with the Imperas Multiprocessor/ Multicore Software Development Kit, M*SDK, which includes tools for multicore software verification, analysis and debug, including key tools for software development on virtual platforms such as OS and CPU-aware tracing, profiling and code analysis.

OVP offers MIPS developers access to all of the MIPS32 32-bit processor models, including the MIPS32 4K, 24K, 34K, 74K, 1004K, 1074K and M14K families of cores. OVP also has reference virtual platforms incorporating the MIPS cores, including bare-metal platforms and a virtual platform of the MIPS Malta development board. This Malta virtual platform enables users to boot Linux in under 5 seconds on a 2-GHz laptop using OVPsim, and to boot multicore SMP (Symmetric Multi-Processor) Linux in less than 8 seconds. These reference platforms are all available as source code, and are easily modified to add or change the memory and peripheral components to customize the platform as required for software development.

In addition to working with the OVP simulator OVPsim, the OVP Fast Processor Models work with the Imperas M*SDK. These tools for multicore software verification and analysis include key tools for software development on virtual platforms such as OS and CPU-aware tracing (instruction, function, task, event), hot-spot profiling, code coverage and memory and cache analysis. The M*VAP (Verification, Analysis and Profiling) tools utilize the Imperas SlipStreamer patent-pending binary interception technology. SlipStreamer enables these analytical tools to operate without any modification or instrumentation of the software source code, i.e., the tools are completely non-intrusive.